Across many diseases of the central nervous system (CNS), immune dysfunction is emerging as a common theme. Researchers are now developing engineered approaches that could harness immune responses in the brain and body to detect disease earlier and guide new therapies.
In Frontiers in Immunology, researchers from the University of Delaware’s Department of Biomedical Engineering review recent research to take a closer look at how several major CNS diseases work, how they are diagnosed and how new therapies are being engineered. Doctoral student Mikayla Jackson led the review, with support from fellow doctoral student Lauren Porter and faculty advisor Robert “Smitty” Oakes.
The authors compare how the immune system behaves across brain tumors, neurodegenerative conditions and multiple sclerosis, an autoimmune disease. They also highlight examples of engineered materials that can deliver drugs or immunotherapies in a controlled way, either directly to the brain or to a specific site in the body, to help shape immune activity.
The authors highlight the potential of integrating immunotherapy with biomaterials, advanced drug-delivery platforms and precision medicine to help overcome current treatment limitations, especially for CNS diseases that still have few or no effective options.